THIS invention relates to a mobile stope support apparatus.
A stope support apparatus of the invention is intended for use underground in mine stopes which may have a considerable dip and which invariably, in gold mines at least, have a rough and uneven footwall which has to be traversed by the apparatus as stoping proceeds and the face moves back. Stope support apparatuses which have already been proposed make use of rectangular skids which rest upon the footwall and which are obliged to drag over the footwall surface when the apparatus advances. In cases where the footwall surface is particularly uneven, the known skids are unable to move over that surface with the result that the apparatus is immobilised.
A typical example of a stope support apparatus which suffers from this disadvantage is described in the specification of UK patent 1 404 594. This apparatus makes use of long skids which would be incapable of negotiating a rough and uneven footwall. Other typical examples of the use of a skid-base type apparatus are described in German Offenlegungsschrift 2848406, UK patent 1,389,111, UK patent applications 2 115 048A, 2 123 885A, 2 129 476A, 2 096 680A, 2 086 462A and 2 077 339A. A stope support apparatus which makes use of a number of base-plate skids is described in the specification of UK patent 1,594,032 but even this apparatus is considered unsuitable for efficient movement in a mine stope having a rough and uneven footwall.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative mobile mine stope support apparatus.